


Overheard

by Cheeriant



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety Attacks, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I read that tag on another fic and think it's glorious, mild sex talk, not beta read we die by hotdog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29469627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheeriant/pseuds/Cheeriant
Summary: Luke gleefully fills Alex and Mallory in on what he overheard coming from Reggie's room.Mallory's shock leads her to literally spill the tea, causing some swift and sweet friend-to-friend first aid, anxiety comfort, and romance.
Relationships: Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms) & Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 4





	Overheard

**Author's Note:**

> Content Warnings: There’s a smattering of curse words. Far, far less than I use on the daily. Some mentions of sex but no descriptions. A lot of platonic emotional feels and platonic tactile moments and some romantic snuggles. And an anxiety attack. 
> 
> I didn’t describe what Mallory looks like because I didn’t want to get hung up on physical descriptions, I just needed to write and the more I get hung up on some details the more likely I am to freeze up and not finish the piece.
> 
> Mallory looks exactly like you want her to. She’s 24, and so are the guys.
> 
> Modern Day AU: Everybody lives, nobody dies.

Preface: Mallory inherited her grandmother’s ancestral home when she turned 22, but rattling around in the big old house wasn’t ideal, and the rest of her family had settled into their own places. Instead of selling it, she spread word through her social network that she was looking for roommates, and a friend told a friend told a second cousin’s neighbour’s dad, and the next thing Mallory knew consistently chart-climbing recording artists Julie and the Phantoms were asking if they could retrofit the guest house as a recording studio and practice space, (yes), and moving in. 

That was two years ago, and the living situation worked out well for everyone. Mallory isn’t rattling around a big empty house, but also has enough personal space when the band spends days on end in the studio or on tour. She slid into their found family as easily as she fits into her biological one. Working as a freelance graphic designer from home has its perks, and her love language is food, so she regularly stocks the pantry and fridge with homemade snacks and home cooked food so that the band and crew aren’t living on take out leftovers. She isn’t doing their laundry or anything, but the bathrooms are never too dusty. The band regularly pulls her into the studio for feedback on something new they’re working on, and bring her out to join them on tour for a visit when they know they’ll have a day to explore the cities they often sleep through. She often finds the grocery list on the white board fulfilled without her needing to bother with shopping, and burnt out lightbulbs and beeping smoke detector batteries never last long enough for her to drag out a ladder. Mallory can’t remember the last time she had to vacuum or mow the lawn. 

***

Mallory filled the kettle, plugged it into the wall in the kitchen and flicked the switch to ON. The blue light burned bright with the promise of hot tea. She leaned against the counter with her back to the breakfast bar and smiled to herself, allowing the internal glow from the afternoon before flare for a minute to warm her cheeks just a little bit. She tucked her smugness away as heard the front door open, Reggie, Alex and Luke’s voices burst forth and warmed up the cool quiet of her morning. 

“Hi Mallory!” Reggie’s voice flew down as he ran up the stairs, probably to grab the shower he’d slept through this morning.

“Hey Mal, what’s up?” Luke was a whirlwind through the kitchen, slamming into her with a warm hug and a smile before tearing into the fridge and surfacing with a yogurt cup. He grabbed a spoon, wound his way around the bar and crashed into the living room coming to a (mostly) full stop on the couch. 

Alex had hung back in the doorway linking the kitchen and the hallway until Hurricane Luke had passed before swooping in for his own hug. “We missed you this morning, such an early call time for that morning show. Thanks for leaving the muffins out and setting the coffee timer though, we would be lost without you.” He followed Luke’s example, settling with a yogurt on the couch. 

She smiled back, “You’re welcome, I just figured that’s what I would want if I had to leave the house at 5 a.m.” She’d never tell them that she had woken up at 4 a.m. in a panic about the events she would unfold at dinner tonight, and so had made the coffee then and left it to warm, zipping back into her main floor suite and quietly shutting her door just as feet shuffled down the stairs. She’d yet to go back to sleep.

“Except you’d want it to be tea. Like, a whole entire pot.” Luke chimed in. 

He was right, and that reminded her that the kettle had boiled. Mallory dropped a tea bag into her mug and moved it to the counter that separated her from the guys, facing them and their snack attack. She set the timer for four minutes, and they chatted about how the acoustic set went and the brief Q&A. Not exactly glamourous, but the show’s cast and crew had been welcoming and it any gig was a good gig. 

The timer beeped and Mallory spooned the tea bag out of her mug and into the compost bin, grabbed the oat milk and poured until the tea was a few shades lighter. Replacing the carton in the fridge, she picked up her mug. 

“Oh, Alex,” Luck cackled, “I totally forgot to tell you. We have to poke at Reggie when he gets down here. Remember I forgot my phone yesterday?”  
Alex nodded. Luke smirked. 

“I could hear moaning from his room as I walked by to mine, definitely a female voice saying ‘Yes, Reggie yes!’” Luke’s voice peaked into a higher register for the impression. 

Mallory’s whole body jerked and the still-steaming liquid sloshed up the lip of the mug like a tidal wave over her hand. She slammed the hot ceramic with her other palm to steady it, causing a second wave that drenched her sock feet. She shrieked and banged the whole thing onto the counter, trying to dislodge her burning fingers from where they’d curled up in pain around the handle, standing on her tip toes trying to get away from the unwelcome heat. 

Before she could really register the mess she was in she was bookended, Luke gently unwrapping her fingers from the mug and Alex guiding her over a few steps to the sink where he already had cool water running. Alex tucked her in front of him, holding her hands in his under the stream of water, and she registered a cooling sensation on her feet. She glanced down and saw Luke patting a wet tea towel over her feet, he must have soaked it without her noticing. Mallory felt her body start to shake as her heart thundered in her chest and sweat beaded on her brow. She squeezed her eyes shut. 

Alex pressed his cheek against hers and guided her through some slow, deep breaths. She could hear him, but he sounded like he was at the end of a tunnel, which messed with her because she could feel the warmth of him all around her and his cheek moving against her as his mouth formed words. Another cooling sensation hit her feet. Her hands were numb. 

Slowly but surely, her breathing evened out, and she relaxed in Alex’s embrace. She opened her eyes and pulled their hands out of the cold water. Alex let go and moved to her side, handing her a dry towel. It was like poofing out of another dimension. 

“How bad is it?” Luke was on the other side of the breakfast bar, leaning over the sink to see her hands. They were mildly pink in a couple of places. It appeared that oat milk saved more than just the environment. 

“I don’t think it’ll blister, probably just be sensitive for a while. Thanks, both of you.” Her next breath hitched as she remembered the reason for her spasm to start with. Mallory could feel the blush rush up her torso so fast she was sure her ears were smoking. Tears clouded her vision so she busied herself with picking the soaked towels up off the floor. She saw towels littered the floor, soaking up the spillage. These guys. Her heart stuttered. 

“Here, no, you just relax and let me get this.” Alex had bent down with her, but a glance at her face had his scrunching with concentration. “What’s wrong, Mal? What happened there?” 

They both straightened and Mal caught sight of Luke’s huge eyes, his hands gripping the edge of the counter in front of him like he was preparing to leap over and save her from whatever it was that was dragging her down. 

They could be so cute. Sometimes. Just not, like, 5 minutes ago. Or yesterday, it would seem. 

Luke chewed his lip for a second then said, “Was it me making fun of Reggie? I didn’t meant to shock you, sorry.” 

Alex started rubbing her back as another shudder ran through her body. She could hear the water shut off in the upstairs shower. She wished Reggie was right there with her so, so much right now. But the words started to tumble out of her mouth, so it looked like she were doing this on her own.

“Um, just of curiosity, Luke,” somehow she managed to find the courage to look him in the eye as tears trailed from her own, “How many people have you told you overheard me having sex with my boyfriend for the first time?” Her cheeks were going to catch fire, but she figured they were all adults and, dammit, she would deal with this. Right now. People talked about sex all the time. Just because she wanted to keep it between her and her boyfriend didn’t make other people at fault for bringing it up, especially when they didn’t know she had no practice in such conversations. Talking about sex led to sex education, or at least healthy discussion. There was nothing to embarrassed about. Right. Sure. Maybe if she repeated this to herself hourly for the rest of her life she might even believe herself. 

Her breath hitched again and Mallory realized she was staring at her hands. Alex’s no longer soothed her tense back. Silence. She sucked in a shuddering breath and looked up again at both guys. They were frozen in spot. Luke was, for once, speechless. So she pressed onwards.  
“We started dating about a month ago, but we kept it quiet in case it didn’t work out; we didn’t want to make things weird for everyone else if that’s what was going to happen. But, uh, as you heard yesterday, it’s going quite well. We were planning to wait for Julie and Flynn to get back from their girls’ day out and break the news to you all at dinner. Excitedly. Joyfully.” She started to twist her hands together, immediately stopping and shaking them out as her irritated skin protested. “We are happy and we hope you guys will support us.” She twisted her fingers together then shook her hands out again.

As the last words left her mouth, the bathroom door upstairs opened, and Reggie’s footsteps sounded on the stairs. He walked into the kitchen and stopped, taking in the scene. A moment later and Alex was brushed to the side, Reggie’s hands cradling hers as he looked them over. Satisfied that she as okay, he slipped his left arm around her waist and snuggled her against him, tickled her under her chin with his right hand to get her to look up at him and he kissed her forehead, her tear stained cheeks, her nose, and finally pressing a long, soft kiss against her lips. Then wrapped her up in both arms and let her hide her face against his chest. 

The silence persisted, but her breathing and heartbeat calmed to match his. She turned her head to rest her cheek against his chest and opened her eyes to find herself facing Luke across the breakfast bar once again. She felt the soothing vibration of Reggie’s words as he spoke in a rush. 

“Hey guys so maybe this vignette seems a little too familiar even for our cozy household, but I finally got the guts to ask Mallory out a few weeks ago and she said yes so we snuck out to that 24/7 diner at, like, 1 a.m. that night and it really was great, so we started dating, and it’s going awesome and we wanted to wait to tell you in case we weren’t going to click so that it wasn’t weird but it’s not weird at all, it’s totally awesome, and we were going to tell everyone at dinner tonight but my girl is crying and nothing was going to stop me from kissing her tears away, so here we are, and now you know and I hope you’re cool with this because honestly I’ll just quit the band if you’re not.”

He sucked in a huge breath. Luke was looking up at Reggie and back to Mallory, a huge smile blooming on his face. Relief crashed through the room. Before she could stop it, Mallory snickered and muttered, “Quit the band? And I thought I was today’s daily dose of drama. As if they’d let you. We’d have figured it out.” She relaxed into Reggie’s arms and wound her own around his back, rubbing in gentle circles and taking in another breath with him. 

She felt Reggie sway them toward the stove as Alex patted him heartily on the back and said, “Um YEAH we’re cool with this!” 

“Yeah,” Luke cut in, “We’ve only been rearranging all of our group seating arrangements to get you two beside each other for six months with the hopes you’d move beyond looking at each other with heart shaped eyeballs and actually do something about it.” 

Mal felt Alex’s arm come around her and squish them all in a group hug. Luke disappeared from view momentarily and pushed his way in between them and the counter to latch on. 

Reggie’s chest sighed against her cheek. “I like this, you guys. So much. Thanks. But, Mal, why were you crying?” She felt the group hug release, but she just held on to Reggie harder and settled her forehead against his chest again. His hands left her back and slid down past her elbows and circled her wrists, trying to move back far enough to look at her in the eye, but she leaned into him harder. 

“Um, that is actually my fault,” Luke’s dejected voice came from beyond the breakfast bar again. 

Mal sighed. Closed her eyes. Pushed back from Reggie but kept her eyes trained on his face rather than glancing at their audience. “It’s not his fault, I reacted poorly to something he said. Turns out Luke forgot his phone yesterday afternoon and came home to grab it. I’m guessing around 2 p.m., Luke?” She never turned her head towards the Luke in question, so she could very clearly see when the lightbulb clicked on in Reggie’s mind. 

“Um, yeah, about then.” Luke replied, slowly. 

Reggie rested his forehead against hers. “Oops.” 

She squeezed her eyes closed again and felt her muscles tense, again. “Mmhmm.” Reggie had taken her hands and was rubbing his thumbs over her knuckles. She pushed back finally, knowing fresh tears were coming and her cheeks were once again blazing. But she tried to smile. “It kinda shocked me, I guess. I just thought…” she couldn’t quite finish the thought aloud.

Reggie nodded, “I know, it was our moment. And now it’s…not.” He just really got her. He was a marvel.

“I’m gonna go hide in my room for a bit.” she twisted her hands out of Reggie’s gentle grasp and fled the kitchen, sopping socks smacking the kitchen tile then soaking the hallway carpet all the way in to her ground floor suite. She closed the door and slumped against it, wrestling the wet socks of her wet feet and wiggling her toes. No permanent damage there either, but also sensitive. she pulled off her hoodie, the cuffs soaked from, well, everything, leaving her in a tank top and jeans. Reggie’s shirt probably had wet marks on it from her embrace, and not just her tear stained face. She sighed and stuttered in another breath, and as the panic attack tried its best to take hold again she teetered over and fell onto her queen bed face first, turning her head towards the wall. She closed her eyes and focused on relaxing her shoulders, her jaw, on breathing in and out slowly, and evenly, coaxing the electricity coursing through her veins to dim. It had been a long time since she’d had a fully-fledged panic attack, she was out of practice dealing with it, but deal with it she did. 

As Mallory felt her body cool down and her centre of gravity return, she wiped her damp face on the pillowcase, turned over and sat up with her back against the headboard. She pulled her knees up, rested her hands on the bed palm down to protect the worst of the burn-sensitive skin, and leaned back. She cracked out a short laugh at this mess she was in. Mild-to-moderate anxiety disorder fucking sucked. Apt description, she really did feel disordered. Mallory laughed again.  
There was a tentative knock at her bedroom door. Mallory groaned. She just wanted to snuggle up with Reggie but she’d bounded out of there so fast she hadn’t had the chance to tell him. He wouldn’t have knocked, so it wasn’t him. She was surprised by a buzzing from the side table and saw her phone was there, lit up by a text message from Reggie. She decided to look at that rather than face whoever was outside her door. 

“Hey love, Luke’s kinda wrecked about upsetting you and he’s at your door. He’s worried you’re mad at him. I told him you’re not, you’re just working through your shock, and I was on my way to come snuggle with you but, uh, he started bawling. My kryptonite. So I let him go to you first. But just say the word and I’ll shove him out of the way.”  
She smiled. Luke was Luke, and that’s why he was beloved. She texted back “It’s okay, I’ll talk to him. But as soon as I send him out come in here and snuggle, please.”  
She got a whole lotta heart emojis in reply, instantly.

“It’s okay Luke,” Her voice was a bit wobbly. “Come on in.” Mallory was too drained to get up and open the door for him.  
The door flung open, but Luke stayed in the doorway. He wiped quickly at his eyes, but she could see they were red, his lashes damp. She patted the bed beside her and held her hand out. He rushed in and settled so fast that the bed bounced. She grabbed his arm to keep from toppling over, hissing out a breath as her pink skin rubbed against the fabric of his sweatshirt. 

“Sorry, sorry!” Luke steadied her, then threw his hands in the air, “I know that I’m supposed to make you feel better right now, but I don’t know how to do that without telling you how sorry I am for, like, actually everything, and now, and please don’t cry again, I think Reggie will beat me up and I’ll totally let him and it’s going to be embarrassing to play the show tomorrow night with a shiner. I’d tell you to take a swing, too, but I think your hands have been through enough. Also because of me. Fuck! Mal! I am SO sorry. Please do not hate me for too long, your friendship is so important to me. You need space though? I’ll give it to you. You probably want that now! Oh my…I am so selfish, I’ll get out of here.” He started to climb off the bed but Mallory’s adrenaline got caught up in Luke’s panic and she was able to launch herself forward and pull him back beside her.

“Whoa, Luke, just breathe, hold on.” They both did. Then she continued, “I’m not mad at you. I’m embarrassed. At me.” She glanced at Luke and then dropped her head into her hands for a moment. 

“Embarrassed at you? But I’m the one…”

Mallory cut him off. “Yes, at me. I’m embarrassed that you heard us…me. Truly. But I’m full out mortified that in this day, at this age, I’m embarrassed to have been caught having a consenting adult relationship by another adult. It’s not like you barged into the room or anything, it was an accident. I’m not thrilled you were going to tell everyone, but I don’t know what I would have done if I were you either, so I really can’t blame you for that because it wasn’t malicious it was just…teasing. And I admit that I take teasing to heart instead of for the levity that it is meant to be.”

Luke was quiet for a moment. She felt him bump his shoulder against hers. “So, what you’re saying is that you’re embarrassed about being embarrassed?”

“Yeah.” 

“There’s no shame in wanting to keep your intimate life moments private, Mal. I know that, I know Reggie enough to know that he would be fine with the teasing if it was just a hook up, but if I’d known this was a serious thing I wouldn’t have said anything. And truthfully I shouldn’t have said anything. If I felt like I had to say something, I should have talked to Reggie personally, not acted like a dumb gossipy kid. You should be mad at me. Even though I didn’t know it was you, I wasn’t a good friend. To anyone. I am truly sorry. I have to apologize to Reggie, too. I hope that you both can forgive me. And that you can get past your own wall and realize that you have nothing to be embarrassed about. I do, but you definitely do not.”

She nodded in agreement, focusing on the pattern on the bed spread. “It was just such a… a beautiful moment, yesterday. I’ve never felt…there’s never been anyone in my life like Reggie and, it just…I think I worry that if I don’t compartmentalize then the really good things get tainted.” Mallory sucked in a breath and felt Luke bump her shoulder again. “You’re right, I do have walls up. I’m a perfectionist, and I am trying to change that, I have been for a long time, but the walls are still there. And I, like, let them down this one time in a big way and then I found out I wasn’t in the controlled environment I designed…. More walls, of course. None of this makes sense, I’m sure, out loud. Really Luke, I know you didn’t mean any harm, even if it wasn’t your classiest move. If it helps at all, even though I’m not mad at you, I forgive you. Let it go and we’ll move on.” 

Luke settled firmly against her. “Yeah? We’re gonna be okay?” 

“Yeah, we are. I’m going to be embarrassed for a while, so if we’re near each other and I pull away or something, don’t take it personally, it’s just me working through my embarrassment.” 

Luke flung his arm around her shoulders, “How about, instead, when you feel embarrassed around me you come to me and get a hug instead, then I’ll know to tread lightly, but also that way we can maybe work on tearing down some of those walls instead of you building them back up? You aren’t in this alone, you know. Anxiety is kind of a close personal friend of this band.” 

She was stunned into silence by this epiphany, and didn’t now what she’d done to earn friends like Julie and the Phantoms and crew, but she’d hold on tight. “Yeah, yeah. That sounds good.” She sniffled a little, because one step at a time here, “Really good.”

She leaned her head on his shoulder, and they sat in comfortable quiet for a minute. 

Then Luke leaned his head against hers and said, “For the record, I didn’t tell anyone but Alex.” Mallory squeezed out a soft ‘Thank you’. Luke went on, “Also, I feel the need to say, since we’re confiding here and all, I’m really glad Reggie made it good for you. Sounded like it was really, REALLY good, and you deserve that.” She jolted upright and shriek laughed, and Luke snickered and hugged her tight, smacked a kiss against her temple and raced out of the room before she could even think to throw a pillow at his retreating form. 

She sat on the bouncing bed and clapped her palms over her eyes, “Oh, geez. GEEZ.” And heard the door to her room snicking shut. Mallory dropped her hands and saw Reggie wandering over to the bed. She saw the wet spots she’d expected leftover from her cuffs. “Sorry about those,” she gestured. 

He glanced down, shrugged, and pulled the t-shirt over his head and tossed it over her laundry hamper. She ogled, openly.

His smile could only be measured in megawatts. “Still want to snuggle with me?” 

She smiled back and realized her body was already relaxing, “Yes, more than ever. But I have to warn you, my body and soul are tired after that and I’m going to fall asleep.” She yawned body proved her point. 

Reggie slid under the covers and she got up, stripped down and donned her sleep shorts and grabbed one Reggie’s t-shirts that she’d borrowed (forever) last week, tossed it over her head and climbed in beside him. They lay there face to face. She slid an arm over his waist and rested her hand on his back, the other hand tucked up between them. He draped an arm over her waist and shoved his other arm under her pillow and brought her in closer so that her head rested over his bicep. They touched noses. 

“You okay, for real?” Reggie said quietly, looking into her eyes.

Mallory met his gaze and nodded, “Yeah, for real. I’ll be embarrassed for a while around Luke, but, uh, he actually came up with a really great idea to try to help me not build that wall back up.” She yawned again. 

He brushed her hair back behind her ear. “The hugging thing?” 

Her eyes widened in surprise, “Yeah!” 

He smiled, “He ran that by me when I explained you just needed some headspace to work through the mindfuck the adrenaline kick started. I like it, too. But you can build that wall back up if you want to. You are allowed to keep things private. We are.” 

She slid even closer still, and he manoeuvred them until her forehead rested against his collarbone and they were well and truly snuggled up. “I don’t want that wall back up. Sleep now, we’ll talk some more later.” 

Reggie nodded, and Mallory let the exhaustion take over. For once when she woke up from it, she wouldn’t be climbing uphill to reclaim the confidence she’d fought for years to have; she’d thrive.

**Author's Note:**

> What does one do when they’ve read all of the JaTP cuddling/snuggling fics? One adds to the collection! It’s been a hot minute since I last posted any fanfiction, long enough that ff.net deleted my account (A03 is superior anyway), but perhaps if this work is received okay I’ll finish the ridiculously romantic Sweet Pea/OFC Riverdale multi-chapter I started last year and keep thinking about, but imposter syndrome, you know? Also the pandemic is sucking out my creative energy and I want it back!
> 
> I debated whether to include Bobby, but I don’t know enough about his character (yet) to make him bend to my writerly will muah-ha-ha-haaaa. Seriously, why haven’t they announced season 2 yet? I’m going to get an ulcer. Julie is mentioned in that she’s outside this scene: what happened here is that I got this scene stuck in my head and I needed pre-fab fictional guys who were not destroyed by toxic masculinity to support my OC, and voila.


End file.
